


Heartcall

by AuroraHearts



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, ReMind inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25865797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraHearts/pseuds/AuroraHearts
Summary: When Riku returns from Shibuya alone, the price of failure weighs heavily on his body and his heart. But whenloveturns out to be the key, it's up to Riku to guide Sora home.--Every grain of sand on the beach bit into Riku’s skin like tiny teeth pressing into wounds that were never really there. Inhuman speed and strength were replaced by a heavy mortal body, every cell trapping him inside its need of oxygen, food and water. He choked out with vocal cords that were raw and unused, “Sora...”
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 76
Collections: Re⊕Collect: A Soriku Fic Collection





	Heartcall

**Author's Note:**

> My brain was so full of angst after ReMind that it decided Riku needed just a little bit more suffering before his happy ending.
> 
> Written for Re⊕Collect: A Soriku Fic Collection! Thanks to Steph and Kei for all their hard work putting the zine together, all the contributors for working so hard and making this project a joy to be a part of! Please check out everyone's fics! And thank you to [Talys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalysAlankil/pseuds/TalysAlankil) & [Anna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireborn) for the betas, and [Niku](https://twitter.com/Nikutsune/status/1267643482576846848) for the artwork! ♥

In the Dream, Riku had been weightless—graced with a form faster and stronger than he had ever hoped to have in the real world. There, he had been able to protect the one he cherished most from an evil greater than any they had ever faced.

Now, however, every grain of sand on the beach bit into Riku’s skin like tiny teeth pressing into wounds that were never really there. Inhuman speed and strength were replaced by a heavy mortal body, every cell trapping him inside its need of oxygen, food and water.

He choked out with vocal cords that were raw and unused, “Sora...”

The shock of finding Sora encased in crystal still haunted his memory. The feeling of dread when he didn’t know what it meant. The press of Yozora’s fingers into his shoulder when his tears wouldn’t stop falling. The hopelessness of being told there was nothing to be done because Sora was already saved.

But Riku had refused to believe it. He refused to give up on Sora. And Yozora hadn’t questioned him. Instead, he simply took his hand, pulled him to his feet and made an oath to help Riku save _his_ Sora. And he never went back on his word.

Together they fought through the streets and alleys of Shibuya, defeating wave after wave of hellish nightmares in haunting sync. Although they shared barely a word or a glance, the trials they faced forged a bond between them, a _trust_ that was pivotal in the moment that led Riku back to the shores of Destiny Island _alone._

“I’ll send Sora back,” Yozora had said. Had looked Riku in the eyes and _promised._

Sora smiled warmly at Riku before reaching out to take his hand in his own. “It’s okay, Riku. I’ll be right behind you. Trust me.”

And while it took every ounce of willpower for Riku to take a single step without him after everything he had gone through to get him back… he did so. Because he trusted Sora.

He _believed_ in Sora. 

But that didn’t stop the pain in his heart from ripping him open as he rolled over onto his back with a grunt, the wet sand cold against his skin, and stared up into the night sky. The stars above twinkled like tiny worlds blinking in and out of existence every second.

The darkness that overtook him then was swift and quiet, and he reached one trembling hand up to those stars and hoped— _wished_ —that the connection between their hearts was still powerful enough to reach across the border of sleep and life.

  
  


The beeping of machines. The dripping of liquid. Muffled voices brought Riku out of unconsciousness, greeted by cold grey walls he was all too familiar with. The inside of Radiant Garden’s laboratory had become like a second home to him after Kairi went into stasis. 

Back then he had visited the lab every day, aiding Ienzo in his research, hoping to find a map to Sora in Kairi’s heart. Before he knew it, a year had gone by and they had found nothing.

The nights were even longer after that, and so were the nightmares. They had plagued him like a virus, teasing him with visions of blue eyes and brown hair wandering unfamiliar streets in the dark of night. And they were as real as they were false and unsettling.

However, there were pleasant dreams of Sora, too. Dreams of racing him across the hot sands of home. Dreams of sailing pirate ships together on the open seas. Dreams of things that made his heart race long after waking—dreams he wouldn’t dare speak of when Fairy Godmother asked him to tell her everything about Sora. But he could tell by the twinkle in her eye that she _knew._

Dreams were her specialty, after all.

And they really had been the key they were looking for. When she bibbity-bobbity-booed him into the Dream and the tall buildings of Shibuya towered over him, he had regretted ever doubting that _he_ could be the key. His unwavering belief and tireless efforts. The pain and the loneliness and the endless nights of wishing and praying and pleading to any deity who would listen had not been in vain. 

Because Riku believed in Sora. 

Riku _loved_ Sora.

It was a truth he kept hidden deep down in his heart, never daring to hope for anything more than Sora’s friendship. Hope had once ripped him apart piece by piece, led him into darkness and almost destroyed him. Until Sora pulled him back from the brink, reaching into the abyss to save him from himself.

Because Sora believed in Riku.

But did Sora— 

“Oh! Riku, you’re awake.”

Riku winced. Although the voice was gentle, there was a high pitched ringing in his ears that shot pain straight to his temples with every word. He gritted his teeth and lifted an arm only to find small tubes attached.

“Please be careful, you don’t want to disturb the IV,” Ienzo chided and gently guided Riku’s arm back to rest on the exam chair. Riku tried his best to focus on him, but his vision was blurry at best.

“Sora...” he said weakly, his throat dry and burning. “Where’s Sora?”

Ienzo looked startled for a moment before his expression grew somber. “He… There’s been no sign of him. I’m sorry.”

Panic hit Riku like a wrecking ball and he sat up quickly, ignoring the wave of dizziness that overtook him. “That… that’s impossible…” He pulled his legs over the side, gripping the cold metal to steady himself. “How long have I been out?”

“Riku, please lie back down, you really need to rest—”

“How long?!” Riku shouted, a difficult feat considering how raw his throat was, and he felt no remorse for the look of alarm on the young scientist’s face.

“Th-three days. We found you on the beach three days ago.”

“Three _days?”_ Riku clenched his fists so hard they hurt. Sora should be back by now. It was true that time worked differently in the Dream, but Sora said he’d be right behind him. Did something go wrong?

Despite the onset of nausea, Riku started pulling the tubes and wires from his body. It didn’t matter what it cost. He’d go back to Shibuya, find Sora and bring him home hand in hand this time. Waiting another year wasn’t an option. Repeating this nightmare yet again was out of the question. His heart literally couldn’t take it.

But when Riku’s feet finally hit the floor, his body rebelled with fire and anger. His vision went black around the edges and he cried out as his bones screamed for mercy. Stumbling forward, he collapsed onto the floor and gripped the cold tile for dear life. His entire _being_ felt upside down and inside out, as if his soul had been contorted inside his body.

Then he felt it—his heart, vibrating in a frequency he didn’t recognize. Like a pitch-shifted version of his favorite song, familiar yet horrible and disturbing. And it _called._

It called out for Sora.

“Ansem, Even, get in here, now!” Ienzo’s voice pierced Riku’s hypersensitive ears and he had no choice but to slam his palms to the sides of his head, desperate to block out the noise. The hand on his back that was meant to soothe was like an electric shock to his spine and Riku cried out in pain, fading from the world again with Sora’s name on his lips.

  
  


One week later there was still no sign of Sora, and Riku was at a loss for what to do next. His friends continued the search, exhausting the same connections in hopes of finding something, _anything_ new. When Riku asked what he could do to help, however, they insisted there was little he _could_ do but rest and recover. 

Fever and pain still wracked his body, affording him little rest or comfort. Sleep came in short bursts and food was all but impossible to keep down. At least he had been moved to a proper room with a real bed, a soft mattress and a door he could lock to keep out unwanted poking and prodding.

But it all paled in comparison to the sense of _wrong_ that resonated in Riku’s chest. Something not quite tangible clawed at something else deep inside him, creating an itch he couldn't scratch. Like an open wound in his heart that wouldn't heal.

His heart... Sora had become so deeply a part of it that his absence created a void that only _Sora_ could fill. Without him, Riku was incomplete. He needed to see Sora smile. He needed to hear his laughter. He needed to throw his arms around him and hold him close, feel his warmth, protect him from the destiny that insisted on keeping them apart. And whisper the words he longed to say...

But at this point would he even get the _chance_ to tell Sora how he felt?

Just as he decided to attempt another trip to the shower without ending up on the floor again, tiny sparkles of light caught his eye and drew his attention to the center of the room. They glimmered and gathered in great numbers until, in a flash of light, they became solid, and a familiar face smiled at him. 

“Fairy Godmother,” Riku said, allowing himself a brief moment of hope.

“Hello, dear. Sorry to drop in on you like this. I hope I didn't disturb your sleep.”

Riku dropped his gaze to his lap and the homemade quilt Aerith had given him after finding out about his insomnia. Although he had been thankful for the gift, it offered him little comfort. “Sleep…”

“Yes, well, that's why I'm here after all. You had that dream again.” She paused, and Riku swallowed hard, dreading the question she had to ask next. “Which means Sora still hasn't come home, is that right?”

Riku gripped the blanket, knuckles white amongst its colors. He knew it hadn’t been her intent, but the reminder of his failure stung deeply. She had generously used her magic to help him, and he had failed to do anything but come back worse for wear. 

But shame and anger wouldn’t bring Sora home—only Riku could do that. “Please, Fairy Godmother, send me back!”

“Oh, dear…” Her eyes filled with something very sad as she looked over his weakened form. “I don't think—”

“I'm strong enough! Please, if he's in trouble I need to save him! I—”

“Shh...” In a blink she was right next to him with a finger over his lips. Kind but stern eyes fixed on him like a mother’s to her beloved child, and he didn’t dare say another word. “Everything will be okay,” she said, barely above a whisper, and the barrier holding every emotion Riku hadn’t let himself feel collapsed in on itself. His body shook in her arms, her gentle hand caressing his hair, and he finally wept for the year he'd been alone. And for all the things he couldn’t say.

Then, carefully, she said, “Let your _heart_ guide you, dear.” The words echoed, lingering in the air around them, and Riku felt they weren’t just said as a comfort.

And then she was gone, leaving behind faint sparkles in the air that dissipated slowly. A particularly bright one remained though, hovering where she had been moments before, shining within the dim light of the room. Riku palmed it through tired eyes, and the tiny star flickered with magic in his hand. It pulsed in sync with his heartbeat, blinking in time like a lighthouse guiding lost souls to shore.

Before he could question it, the star changed before his eyes, materializing into a small charm in the shape of the Dream Eater symbol. Unsure of its meaning, Riku turned it over in his hands with great care, studying the smooth rose gold that radiated warmth and a familiar resonance.

Then Riku gasped and gripped the front of his shirt when a familiar heat danced through his chest. It was the same rush he had felt when Sora floated down into his arms after being released from the crystal. Sora had looked up at him with the warmest smile, and the emotion filling his eyes in that moment had replaced the need for words.

When Riku had needed to find him, it was Sora's _love_ that had been his guiding light.

Riku threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. His legs were sore and stiff, and he wobbled for a moment, but that only made him more determined to not let his own body keep him from bringing Sora home. Knowing now what he had to do, he grabbed his jacket and shoes, slipped the charm into his pocket and ran out the door. Luckily it was nighttime and there was no one around to claim he was in no shape to be piloting the Gummi Ship.

  
  


It was an unusually cold, brisk wind that bent the trees of Destiny Islands to its whims and pelted Riku's legs with sand. But he paid it no mind. If still-burning lungs and half-numb extremities couldn’t keep him from the beach, goosebumps certainly wouldn't. Still, he shivered as he reached the water, summoning the will to keep standing for a moment longer.

Riku knew his _love_ was the guiding light that would bring Sora home. He just had to believe that Sora would see it—that he would hear the broken notes of their heart song, out of tune and without their harmony, and come home to make it whole again.

Shutting his eyes, Riku concentrated on the one thing he wanted more than anything—to hold Sora in his arms again. To feel his warmth and hear him speak his name. To see that goofy grin smiling back at him, toothy and lopsided and perfect. Riku wanted to kiss it away and experience every messy, awkward, wonderful moment that’d come after.

His chest suddenly pounded with the memory of tossing a paopu fruit to Sora only a few years earlier. So many words had been left unsaid. What he would give to have that moment back. To take all that childhood fear and confusion and force it aside to speak what was really inside his heart. 

Now, Riku didn't know if he would ever get the chance to tell him. The lifelong feelings he had worked so hard to bury ached and screamed inside their cage. And after everything—the loss and the hopelessness and the heartache—Riku summoned every ounce of strength he had left to reach up to the stars and set them free.

_“I love you, Sora!”_

As his confession echoed across the ocean, the moon provided just enough light for Riku to see the grains of sand beneath him grow closer, palms bearing his weight as he fell onto all fours and sobbed. Heavy tears hit the sand like tiny meteors filling each crevice with salt and memories of the lost opportunities to tell Sora how much he meant to him...

Then, like a shooting star granting his wish, there was a splash. 

And with it, a new vibration. 

Sora was home.

Without another thought, Riku pushed off the sand and dove into the ocean. The water hit him like icy daggers against his skin. His aching muscles protested, slowing him down and begging him to turn back. But he ignored their pleas, pushing the waves aside in broad strokes until reaching his destination—the place his heart had called him to.

Spotting nothing on the surface, Riku dove under. Though his eyes burned, he forced them open until he caught the glint of metal in the submerged moonlight. He reached out and grabbed Sora's wrist, panic and fear mixing in his veins when there was no response.

Riku pulled Sora close and held him against his body as he broke the surface. With the waves crashing against them, it was all he could do to keep both their heads above water. He cursed his body and its every weakness, refusing to give up. And it was that resolve—that willingness to sacrifice everything he was for the one he loved—that made the Dream Eater charm in his pocket pulse with magic. 

And then Riku was weightless. 

His body was reborn anew with Fairy Godmother’s gift: the speed and the strength that he’d possessed in the Dream. With it, neither the power of the ocean nor the force of the wind stopped him from getting Sora back to shore. He all but flew over the water, bending reality and moving in ways only possible in dreams.

Once Sora was safely lying on the beach, Riku collapsed next to him. His limbs went numb, their prior weakness returning as the charm’s magic seeped out of him, its power exhausted. But it was okay. The rough, wet sand on his face was a comforting reminder they were home. Sora was finally home.

Riku only allowed himself a moment to catch his breath before summoning the strength to turn himself over to face where Sora lay—motionless. Dread seized his chest when he noticed the blue tint to Sora’s lips.

But just as Riku reached out to him, wondering if their first kiss would be the kiss of life… Sora coughed. Seawater sputtered over his lips and chin, and his lungs gasped for air in short gulps as if learning how to breathe again.

With the strength to do little else, Riku shifted to sit with Sora’s head in his lap. And as he held Sora close, tired fingers carding through his hair, there was a new kind of pulse in his chest. It was warm and wonderful, something familiar and invigorating.

Their vibrations were resyncing.

With a strained breath, Sora lolled his head to the side and stared at Riku with black pupils, rings of blue barely visible. They darted back and forth rapidly, combing through the remnants of Shibuya and casting them out—shards of a world that didn’t belong.

“Ri… ku…” His name was barely a wheeze from Sora’s throat. But no matter how weak, Sora calling out to him always gave Riku the strength and courage of a thousand Keyblade Masters. He used it to scoop Sora into his arms and push up off the sand, ignoring the splitting pain and exhaustion that ripped through him. His legs wobbled as he stood, and he wished upon all the fairy godmothers to let him get Sora somewhere safe.

Although Riku struggled to shuffle his own feet along the sand, he quickly discovered that carrying Sora was somehow effortless. It reminded him of wielding Braveheart. The massive Keyblade was solid and heavy, but when wielding it to protect Sora, it felt featherlight. He had asked Mickey about it once and was told that the same newfound strength in his heart that had summoned it also made it feel weightless to him when protecting his most cherished person—because there was no more fear or doubt weighing down his heart. 

Is that why Sora felt weightless, too? Because he was protecting him? Or because Riku’s true feelings had finally been set free?

Sometime later, Riku pushed open the door to Sora's house and carried him upstairs to his room. It was a strange feeling to be back. Years had passed since they had last been here, and it was exactly as Sora had left it—the room of someone who had no concept of Keyblades or Heartless. A boy who had a normal life free from sacrifice and death. 

Sora shivered violently against him, and Riku cursed for having lost himself in thought. Foregoing any modesty or shame, Riku quickly shed their wet clothes and buried Sora between the sheets of his bed, piling as many blankets on top of him as he could find. Sora’s eyes hadn't reopened since the beach, and his heart’s song was still calling out to complete its harmony. Riku felt it in the beating of his own heart—a broken rhythm that wished to be whole again.

They needed time—together—to reattune to each other. 

Riku lifted the top few blankets just enough to slip underneath them, careful not to disturb Sora in the narrow space. Although a few layers separated them, Riku could still feel Sora's shiver, so he slowly slid his arm between the fabric and wrapped him in a hug, holding him close. He could still smell the seawater in Sora's hair, and somehow a hint of the dark and smokey Shibuya air. Sora's breath was shallow, but his heartbeat was stronger now, and the shaking stopped within a minute of their bodies being pressed together. 

From somewhere on the floor a Gummiphone rang, but Riku ignored it, too focused on keeping Sora comfortable to even silence it. Sora didn't seem to hear it, only shifted closer, burying his head into Riku's shoulder. Riku ran his fingers through Sora’s hair until his breathing steadied into a familiar rhythm. And the whisper of Riku’s name echoed under Sora's breath as he, too, fell into his first restful sleep in a year.

  
  


Although Sora's sickness over the next few days wasn't as bad as what Riku had experienced, the re-attunement process was different. At times, Sora would zone out completely, limbs limp and eyes glazed over until they were black in color. The first time it happened, he had been eating a small dish Riku prepared for him, and without warning, it tumbled across the bed and onto the floor. Riku panicked and tried everything to get him back, but when nothing helped, he simply held Sora tightly in his arms until it passed. 

When Sora came to, he was silent except to ask Riku to keep holding him. And Riku did, sitting beside him in the bed and wrapping an arm around his body. Sora scooted as close as possible and leaned against him, resting his head against Riku's chest and curling his fingers into the front of his shirt. It was the only time during his recovery that he seemed completely at ease, unhaunted by the visions and the tremors. A joy Riku hadn't known in years overcame him in those long moments. To be this close to Sora, to hold him in his arms, was everything he ever wanted.

It wasn't until day three that Sora made a request that wasn't water, more blankets, or for Riku to hold him. 

“I want to see the sunset,” he said softly, almost passively, while staring out the window at the evening blues and violets. 

“What?” Riku almost missed it despite sitting right next to him, shoulder to shoulder in Sora's bed.

“The sunset. I want to see it again. From the island.” He turned his head toward Riku, weary eyes brighter than they had been in days. His hand slid across the covers until it came to rest on top of Riku's. “With you.”

Breathless, Riku gazed down at him. Sora looked so small, so fragile, like he would break at any moment, and Riku would do anything to keep him from shattering. 

After giving Sora’s hand a quick, reassuring squeeze, he threw back the covers and hopped out of bed, securing the soft fleece blanket they had been cuddling under around Sora's entire body and scooped him up into his arms. Sora hadn't been on his feet in three days and Riku wasn't going to risk another blackout making him trip and fall. Besides, he'd carried him across the island once before, and he'd do it a thousand times if it meant Sora got to see the sunset.

  
  


Their tiny boat hit the shore of the play island right as the sun kissed the horizon line. Riku quickly gathered Sora into his arms again and made his way across the sand and the boardwalk to the paopu tree. He lowered himself onto the ground in front of it, leaning against the tree with Sora curled up in his lap. Sora melted into Riku's embrace and laid an ear against his chest with a sigh. After a few moments, he twisted his head just enough to see the sunset.

“It's the most beautiful here,” Sora said, fully relaxed. Riku adjusted the blanket, making sure to keep him protected from the elements. “It was so different in Shibuya.”

Riku knew it wasn’t the right time to ask, but the question nagged him incessantly and the words came out before he could stop them. “Why did Yozora ask you to stay behind?”

Sora tensed for a moment, evident even through the blanket, then went silent for a long time. “He said some things that didn’t make sense to me,” he said slowly, as if it was difficult to remember the conversation at all. “Then he asked me… what is Riku to you?”

This time it was Riku's turn to tense up, and he summoned every ounce of his courage to ask, “And… what did you tell him?”

“I…” Sora paused to sit up a little in Riku’s lap. “I didn't know how to answer.” Sora placed a hand over his chest like he had done so many times before, but this time he smiled when looking up to meet Riku’s eyes, the hint of tears at the edges. “But then I thought about how you came to find me. How you never stopped looking for me. How you’ve always believed in me. And then it finally made sense.” Sora’s next fragile exhale ended in half a giggle, like he had finally figured out what it had all been for. “I love you, Riku.”

Riku gasped for air after letting out the breath he’d been holding, a choked sob his only reply to the words he had waited his entire life to hear. He collapsed around Sora and hugged him tighter than he ever had, and Sora responded by burying his face in Riku’s neck and gripping the front of his shirt. They held each other close for a long time, bathed in the orange light of the island sunset.

After a while, Sora patted Riku's chest. “Hey, loosen up a little, I can't breathe,” he said with a chuckle. 

Riku pulled back, vision a little blurry from tears as he wiped them away. “Sora, I—” 

Something thudded into the bushes next to them, and the edge of a familiar yellow rind tumbled out from beneath the leaves. Riku shook his head in disbelief and reached over to pick up the paopu fruit, smiling fondly at it in his hand. “You know, I always wanted to share one of these with you.”

“You did, remember? On the bridge?”

“I did, but I was childish then…” Riku looked at the fruit and exhaled, the memory of that day no longer a weight for him to carry. Gone was the jealousy of his youth, replaced with the courage to do what he couldn’t all those years ago. “I’ll do it the right way this time.” 

Even though Sora had already confessed, there were still butterflies in Riku’s stomach as he offered the paopu to Sora. His heart swelled when Sora lit up and eagerly accepted it, taking it into his hands like a precious treasure. Then Riku gently cupped Sora’s chin, tilting it up until their eyes met. And there was no dream or nightmare that could keep the truth from his lips. “This time I’ll tell you I love you.”

Riku brushed his lips featherlight against Sora’s, earning a coo and the soft caress of fingers through his hair. And the kiss that followed was sweeter than any he had ever dreamed of—and yes, it was messy and awkward and wonderful and everything he hoped it would be. 

Wrapped in each other’s arms, they kissed and cuddled and laughed until the sun set, weakness giving way to love. Finally, their vibrations were in sync, and with it, their harmony found.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave some love! ♥
> 
> I post fic snippets and Soriku 3D art on Twitter! [@AuroraHearts_](https://twitter.com/AuroraHearts_)


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